


baby, it's fucking freezing outside

by humancorn



Series: Secret Santa Gifts 2018 [2]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Anxious!Matthew, Awkward Crush, Christmas Fluff, Crushes, Embarrassed!Matthew, Flower Shop Owner!Romano, Flowers, Fluff, M/M, Tattoo Artist!Canada, flower tattoos, kinda not?, kinda pre-slash, mentioned north//italy, who knows - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-24 16:03:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17103692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/humancorn/pseuds/humancorn
Summary: Romanada + Flower Shop / Tattoo Studio AU





	baby, it's fucking freezing outside

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the APH Rarepair Exchange on tumblr (aphsecretsanta.tumblr.com)!
> 
> For @abananaisaweapon! <3 I really hope this is alright!

Lovino loved flowers. Ever since he’d set foot in his father’s flower garden when he was a kid, he’d loved them - the delicate petals, the faint yet stunning aromas, and the way that you could bring them together into an arrangement to convey any variety of emotions. It seemed like destiny when he’d gotten a summer job at the local florist when he was a teenager. That job taught him everything he needed to know to open his own shop in the next town over. A red-brick storefront in the middle of downtown, two blocks from a damn good coffee shop, and right next to a tattoo studio that looked more like a classy restaurant than anything else. And business, well, business was great. Working with what he loved without any supervisors looming over him and judging his work was fantastic. It was honestly more than Lovino had hoped for. He’d made it through the summer season with only minor issues, and as winter rolled around, he began work on wreaths. He still hadn’t seen the neighboring shop owner - or even the manager for that matter - but he supposed it didn’t matter all that much.

 

***********

 

The sun had just set on a mid-December day when Lovino’s shop-bell rang. He sighed, hoping it wasn’t another person trying to book a summer wedding arrangement, and glared at the man strolling around his shop. He was tall, lean, and his neck was covered in an intricate pattern of ink, stopping just below the line of his jaw. Delicate curves of dark black ink and tiny stars and ovals and other shapes in dark blue, it was honestly just...beautiful, in Lovino’s opinion.

 

“Do you have any tulips?” The man’s voice was soft and lilting, like he was trying to apologize without actually saying the words. Lovino just stared at him for a moment, caught off guard.

 

“No,” His voice came out harsher than he’d intended and the man frowned. Lovino smiled and carefully continued, “We only stock tulips when they’re in season, in the spring. I could...order some if you’d like.”

 

“Uh, no, no. It’s okay. I just. I...Could...I need flowers.”

 

“You could need flowers?”

 

“I...can I? Flowers?” He whispered, eyes darting between Lovino and the door before making a quick exit and disappearing into the now dark streets.

 

**********

 

Three days came and went and Lovino almost forgot about the incident. Wreath-making, scheduling up events, getting the arrangements ready for an absolutely garish orange and blue-themed wedding, and shopping around for gifts for his brother and his brother’s idiot husband had kept him busy enough to not think much of it. Until, well, it happened again. He’d been in a t-shirt the second time he’d come in and after Lovino had gotten over the initial shock of _“how the fuck is he here in short sleeves when it’s -2 degrees Fahrenheit outside?”,_ he found that his neck was not the only thing that was heavily tattooed. His arms were covered in ink - one full sleeve on his left arm and an in-progress half-sleeve on his right with gorgeous watercolors of dark red leaves mixed with blossoming white lilies. And all Lovino could this was “ _Wow”._ The man stared back at him, breath caught in his throat like he _wanted_ to say something, but instead he just turned back out the door.

 

Two more days and the same man showed up again, but this time Lovino was in the back when the doorbell rang. He touched up the arrangement he was working on and headed to the storefront, only to find that same fucking guy smiling like an idiot while crouching down to look at some carnations. All bundled up in a long coat and a long red and green tartan scarf, he looked like something out of a Sears holiday catalogue. Lovino cleared his throat, crossed his arms across his chest and _looked_ at him.

 

“Looking for anything in particular?” He asked, but he felt like he already knew the answer.

 

The man stared up at him, eyes wide, a polite smile on his lips, “T...tulips?”

 

Lovino could practically feel his blood pressure rise. He took in a long breath and closed his eyes for a moment, ready to repeat what he’d told him the other day. The doorbell chimed and Lovino knew he’d be gone if he bothered to look.   _Honestly_ , he thought, _what the fuck was going on?_  
  
He ordered tulips. And the next time the guy came into his store, Lovino blocked the door before he could run out.

 

“What the hell is your problem, buddy?” Lovino crossed his arms across his chest.

 

“Nothing...I just? I need flowers? I need flowers.”

 

“Okay. What _kind_ of flowers?” He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger and the man just stared at him. A minute passed and Lovino sighed, dragged a hand across his face and, “I ordered tulips. Do you still want tulips?”

 

“...Yes.”

 

Lovino kept an eye on him as he retrieved the tulips. He wasn’t sure which ones the guy wanted, so he went with a safe bet of holiday colors - plain triumph tulips in red and white.

 

“These ok?” Lovino asked.

 

“Perfect,” He smiled and fumbled around for his wallet, eyes blowing wide as he patted down each of his pockets. He held up a finger and rushed out the door, once more. And Lovino almost screamed, almost full-out screeched because he’d special ordered fucking tulips in the middle of goddamn December and this guy still ran out of his fucking shop like a lunatic. What else could he want? What else did Lovino have to do to make this weird, beautiful, heavily-tattooed man from fucking with him?

 

Lovino was still fuming when the bell rang a few minutes later. Mystery man was back, a folded twenty in his hand.

 

“I hope that’s enough?” He murmured, and Lovino could clearly see a blush creep across his face but whether it was from the cold or just plain embarrassment, he didn’t really give a shit. He took the twenty and handed the bundled up tulips to the guy.

“Thank you,” Mystery guy said, and he was gone. _Hopefully for the last time_ , Lovino thought. He unravelled the twenty to fit it in the register and narrowed his eyes when a business card fell out.

 

_Fleur Noir Tattoo Studio_

_176 Thomas Avenue_

_Branton, Maine. 44057_

_Matthew Williams, Licensed Tattoo Artist_

_(440)-485-2889_

_FleurNoirInk.com_

 

In small, loopy cursive on the back of the card, “ _Sorry for all of the trouble. You can come next door to bother me if you’d like. -Matthew”_ Lovino sighed and tucked the card under the corner of the register as a group of teenagers walked in.

 

*********

 

A whole week had passed without so much as a peep from the guy - _Matthew -_ and Lovino was, admittedly, bored out of his mind. Two days before Christmas eve and all of his winter events had come and gone. No customers had come in since yesterday. He was just sitting in the shopfront, all alone, for _hours_ with nothing to do but read the godforsaken flower catalogue he’d had sitting in the back.

 

Five o’clock rolled around and he was thinking about maybe closing up early when the doorbell rang. He almost jumped out of his seat, thankful for something to finally -- _shit._

 

“Hello,” Matthew smiled shyly at him, hand absently rubbing the back of his neck.

 

“Hey,” Lovino sighed.

 

“I...I wanted to show you the tulips.” His voice was quiet as he slipped off his jacket. And Lovino’s breath stopped in his throat - the former half-sleeve had been completed. Matthew’s right arm still held the deep-red maple leaves and white lilies, but now they were accompanied by a patch of absolutely stunning tulips. “Thanks for, uh, ordering them for me. Every other shop I tried was either closed for the season or not willing to place an order this close to Christmas.” Matthew continued. Lovino didn’t react, eyes still focused on the tulips covering Matthew’s forearm.

 

When Lovino finally looked up, Matthew was smiling at him, big and dopey, “Do you like them?” Matthew asked. Lovino cleared his throat and tried to will away the blush now present on his cheeks.

 

“They’re...pretty okay.” Lovino choked out, and Matthew was still smiling at him as he shrugged his jacket back on.

 

“So, uh, yeah. If you...If you ever want a tattoo, I’m right next door…” He paused, “I like doing flowers if you’d, y’know. But yeah.” Turning toward the door, he looked back over his shoulder, “And my number’s on the card if you want to call.” And he was gone.

 

Lovino’s ears were burning. His heart was pounding. And over what? A few  ~~ really pretty  ~~ tattoos? A pretty okay  ~~ gorgeous ~~ guy who apparently also loves flowers and works at the tattoo shop next door? He took the card out from under the register and turned it around in his hands. Y’know. Maybe this could be good. He tucked the card into his pocket and locked up the shop for the night. He’d thought about getting a tattoo before, but had never actually gotten around to it.  _ Maybe it was time to do something about that _ , he rationed as he turned the corner into  _ Fleur Noir _ . 


End file.
